Farm to Flavor 2017

Thu, Aug 24, 2017 at 6:30pm

Every meal begins with a seed, and every agricultural seed carries a 10-thousand year legacy of co-evolution between people and plants. Plant breeders dedicate their careers to deepening this relationship, creating crops that are ever-more delicious, resilient, and well-adapted to local farms.

Join the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative and Allen Centennial Gardens for an unconventional tasting event, celebrating biodiversity in food through small plate dishes from Madison's talented chefs. Taste habaneros bred for almost undetecable spice, tomatoes with a dark indigo pigment, or beets bred to be deliciously mild and sweet. Learn from keynote speaker Lane Selman about the important role plant breeders play in building a more just and resilient food system, and the ways local chefs, farmers and eaters are working together to further the cause. Sample vegetables straight from the plant, on a tour of Allen Centennial Gardens immediately preceeding the dinner.

The eight chefs of the Seed to Kitchen Collaborative evaluate hundreds of vegetable varieties every season, providing valuable feedback to plant breeders around the country. Farm to Flavor is their chance to share what they've learned with you, by featuring each of their favorite varieties in a dish of their own design.

Participating chefs include:

Jonny Hunter, Underground Food Collective

Torry Miller, L'Etoile, Graze, Sujeo, Estrellon

Dan Bonnano, Pig in a Fur Coat

Eric Benedit, Cafe Hollander

Joe Cloute, Heritage Catering

Yusuf Bin-Rella, Four Lakes Market, UW-Madison

Kathy Griswold, Epic

Sean Fogarty, Steenbock's on Orchard

Keynote speaker Lane Selman is the founding director of the Culinary Breeding Network in Portland, OR, which brings together plant breeders, chefs, bakers and other stakeholders in the food community to create more relevant and desirable cultivars for organic farmers. Lane has earned national acclaim for her work furthering the concept of "culinary breeding" and is a tireless advocate for small-scale organic producers.

Event Schedule

5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Garden walk and edible tour, with iced tea made from herbs from the garden